Fast, Fresh & Green (9 page)

½ TSP FINELY GRATED BLOOD ORANGE ZEST

1 TBSP BLOOD ORANGE JUICE

2 TSP PURE MAPLE SYRUP

1 TSP RED-WINE VINEGAR

1½ TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 LB/455 G CARROTS,
peeled and cut into sticks about 3 in/7.5 cm long and
³
/
₈
in/9.5 mm thick

¾ TSP KOSHER SALT

¼ CUP/60 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

2 TSP FINELY CHOPPED FRESH TARRAGON

1
Combine the blood orange zest and juice
, maple syrup, and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside. Cut ½ Tbsp of the butter into 4 pieces and keep them chilled in the refrigerator.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add the carrots and salt and toss well. Arrange the carrots in mostly one layer across the bottom of the pan. Cook, without stirring, until the bottoms of the carrots are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir and flip the carrots with tongs (don’t worry if you don’t turn them all over at first) and cook, flipping and turning the carrots occasionally, until they are all starting to feel limp and are a bit browned on at least two sides (some will be darker brown), another 5 minutes. The pan will have darkened a bit.

3
Carefully pour the broth
into the pan (it will sputter), cover quickly, and cook until all but 1 to 2 Tbsp of the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the blood orange mixture and the cold butter. Using a silicone spatula, gently toss and stir, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan, until the butter has melted and the pan sauce is coating the carrots, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the tarragon, and serve.

Serves 3 or 4

A bit like an elegant succotash, this fresh summer medley has a nice hit of lemon to brighten it up. It takes some time to prep these vegetables, but the cooking goes quickly—the “braise” is really just a quick reduction of chicken stock and a little bit of cream to bring everything together. The vegetables don’t get overcooked, and so they retain a nice texture. This ragout is good slightly warm, as well as hot, so it can sit a bit while you put the rest of your dinner together.

Baby zucchini (about ¾ in/2 cm thick) are pretty widely available now, and a snap to prepare because you just slice across them. But if you can’t find them, just cut slim zucchini into quarters lengthwise and then slice across. To finish this dish, I like to combine three or four different tender herbs (whatever you’ve got, as long as some of them are mild like parsley—a tablespoon of thyme would be overwhelming). They all go well with the summer vegetables and lemon. This would be nice as a bed for a sautéed crab cake. When I’m in the mood for Thai flavors, I use the vegetables and proportions in this recipe but make a few flavor changes. Instead of heavy cream, I use coconut milk. Instead of lemon, use lime. I add a little chopped lemongrass and use mint and cilantro for my herbs.

1 TSP FRESH LEMON JUICE

½ TSP FINELY GRATED LEMON ZEST

¼ TSP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

¼ CUP/60 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

2 TBSP HEAVY CREAM

1 TBSP CANOLA OIL

1 CUP (
about 4 oz/115 g
) FRESH CORN KERNELS (
from about 2 large ears; see tip
)

¾ CUP (
about 3½ oz/100 g
) SLICED BABY ZUCCHINI (
¼-in/6.5-mm pieces
)

¾ CUP (
about 3½ oz/100 g
) SLICED SLENDER GREEN OR YELLOW WAX BEANS (
¼-in/6.5-mm pieces; see tip)

1 CUP (
about 4 oz/115 g
) MEDIUM-DICED YELLOW ONION

½ TSP KOSHER SALT

½ TSP FINELY CHOPPED FRESH GARLIC 1 TBSP CHOPPED FRESH HERBS (
a combination of parsley or chervil, chives, thyme, mint, and/or basil
)

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

1
Combine the lemon juice
, lemon zest, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. In a liquid measure, combine the broth and heavy cream. Set these aside.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn, zucchini, green beans, onion, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bottom of the pan is browned (this is from the starch in the corn) and some of the vegetables are just beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, just until well combined. Turn the heat to low, add the broth-cream mixture, stir well to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and cover. Simmer, stirring once, until the liquids have reduced to 1 or 2 Tbsp, 3 to 4 minutes. (Depending on your stove, this may go more quickly.)

3
Remove the pan from the heat
, uncover, and stir in the lemon juice mixture and most of the fresh herbs. Season with pepper and stir again. Transfer to a serving dish or individual serving bowls and garnish with the remaining herbs.

Serves 4

Tips:
I find the safest way to cut corn off the cob is to snap the shucked ears in half first. Then put one half, cut side facing down, on a large cutting board and slice down the cob with a sharp knife using a sawing motion. Keep turning the cob until you’ve cut off all the kernels. Repeat with the other half. For convenience, I also put a large (old) dish towel over my cutting board before I start. When I’m done cutting, I can fold in the corners of the towel and easily transfer the kernels to a bowl. Any way you do it, be aware that corn kernels do have a tendency to go flying when you cut them.

To prep the green beans, trim the ends and slice them crosswise into pieces about the size of large peas.

This colorful dish tastes like it was cooked for a long time, but it has the texture of a nice sauté. In other words, it’s a classy take on a vegetable stew. It looks lovely in a white bowl, and a few seared shrimp on top would absolutely make dinner. The sliced serranos give it a pretty nice kick of heat; you can use fewer slices if you like.

Anytime you sauté corn, its starch immediately starts to brown on the bottom of the pan. Don’t be alarmed by this; just be sure to scrape all that tasty stuff up when you add the liquids. And if you’ve never cooked with okra, this is a great way to try it. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can prep it (just slice across), and how pretty it looks. In this dish, the texture stays firm, and the slightly sticky substance that the okra contains simply blends in with the other ingredients. By the way, okra’s flavor will remind you of green beans. Look for okra pods that are firm and bright green. Choose smaller ones if you can.

1 TSP FRESH LEMON JUICE

¼ TSP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

1 TBSP CANOLA OIL

1 TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

1 CUP/85 G THINLY SLICED TRIMMED OKRA

¾ CUP/100 G FRESH CORN KERNELS (
from about 2 medium ears; for cutting tip, see
page 67
)

¼ CUP/35 G SMALL-DICED RED BELL PEPPER

1 CUP/100 G LARGE-DICED YELLOW ONION

½ TSP KOSHER SALT

1 TSP FINELY CHOPPED FRESH GARLIC

6 VERY THIN SLICES SERRANO PEPPER (
with seeds)

¾ CUP/115 G QUARTERED SMALL CHERRY TOMATOES

¹
/
₃
CUP/80 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

1 TBSP CHOPPED FRESH BASIL

1
Combine the lemon juice
and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, heat the canola oil and butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the okra, corn, bell pepper, onion, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bottom of the pan is browned and the onion is partially translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and the serrano and cook, stirring, just until well combined. Add the cherry tomatoes and the broth, stir, turn the heat to low, and cover. Simmer until the onion is translucent and the liquid is a rich brownish orange, about 5 minutes.

3
Uncover
, and if there is a lot of liquid in the pan, turn the heat to high, and simmer to reduce the liquid to 1 or 2 Tbsp, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice mixture and the basil and stir well. Transfer to a shallow serving dish or individual shallow bowls.

Serves 4

A broccoflower floret is a beautiful thing—plump and bright green—so it’s painful to slice one. But please do. Each of your florets should be about 2 in/5 cm long and around 1 in/2.5 cm wide, so make one or two cuts through the middle of the larger florets to create consistently sized pieces with at least one flat side on each for more contact with the bottom of the pan.

This brown-and-braise method yields perfectly cooked, crisp-tender broccoflower with a lemony, buttery pan sauce, which everyone will like. The Toasted Parmigiano Bread Crumbs aren’t absolutely necessary, but they don’t take long to make and add a wonderful texture. This recipe also works with cauliflower; use about 12 oz/340 g.

For a vegetarian main dish, serve this over angel hair pasta tossed in a little brown butter and seasoned with lots of fresh pepper. For a slightly heartier pasta dish, add crisp pancetta before the broccoflower.

Toasted Parmigiano Bread Crumbs (optional)

½ TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

¼ CUP/15 G FRESH BREAD CRUMBS (
see tip
)

KOSHER SALT

1 TBSP FINELY GRATED PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO (
see tip
)

1 TSP CHOPPED FRESH PARSLEY

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1½ TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

10 OZ/285 G BROCCOFLOWER FLORETS,
each 2 in/5 cm long with one flat side (from about ½ head)

½ TSP KOSHER SALT

¹
/
₃
CUP/80 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

1½ TSP FRESH LEMON JUICE

1 TSP DIJON MUSTARD

1 TSP CHOPPED FRESH PARSLEY

1
To make the Toasted Parmigiano Bread Crumbs
, melt the butter over low heat in a small nonstick skillet. Add the bread crumbs and a pinch of salt and stir well. Raise the heat to medium and cook the crumbs, stirring frequently, until they’re toasted and most of them are a light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small plate and let cool. Combine with the Parmigiano and parsley.

2
In a 10-in/25-cm straight-sided sauté pan
with a lid, heat the olive oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and is starting to foam, add the broccoflower and salt and toss with tongs to coat. Arrange the broccoflower with one cut side down and cook without stirring until the bottoms are browned, 3 to 4 minutes. (The browning will be spotty but will be a fairly dark brown color.) Turn the florets onto another side and cook again without stirring until that side is lightly browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Carefully pour the broth into the pan (it will sputter), cover, and cook until all but 1 or 2 Tbsp of the liquid has evaporated (uncover once or twice and swirl the liquid to distribute if necessary), 2 to 3 minutes.